


The Lewis-Clement Pamphlet

by turkulesmulligan



Category: Hamilton - Fandom, Hamilton - Miranda, Hamilton-Historical, Historical - Fandom
Genre: Hamilton - Freeform, Historical, Maria Reynolds - Freeform, Original work - Freeform, Other, The Reynolds Affair, The Reynolds Pamphlet, based on actual events
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 13:59:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17468906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turkulesmulligan/pseuds/turkulesmulligan
Summary: My best attempt at creating something similar to what Ms. Reynolds had wished to publish.





	The Lewis-Clement Pamphlet

I personally don’t fault Ms. Maria Lewis Reynolds for the affair any more than I fault Mr. Alexander Hamilton. It was a consensual decision for both parties—though Maria had more justified reasoning much unlike Alexander.

This is all the information I compiled of Maria Lewis Reynolds, also known as Maria Clement. Written in the omniscient third person as to add more detail, speaking of facial expression and emotional thought process. Historical accuracies aside, I hope this can provide a bit of insight to her situation.

Let’s not forget the full story was never told, my version is pieced together with the help of history, but ordered by myslef.

I could see James hitting her. He was hitting her with a belt. It looked horrible; but she just let it happen, as tears rolled down her pale skin. Things like this were a frequent occurrence in the Reynolds’ Household. Months later James was gone, no note, no nothing. Simply gone from the lives of Maria and her daughter Susan.

She needed money. She needed money desperately.James had taken it all and left Maria poor and alone. Maria tried her best to keep her life the way it was before, bribing her servants to work for less, with more food and free time. She didn’t know how she would keep this up. She did the only think she could think of. She had heard the Hamilton family was rich, she had justified her actions in her head—she needed money, her daughter would die if she didn’t get the money. She had raised her hand to the door and knocked. She had begged Alexander. He had told her it wasn’t convenient to him at the time. 

She was disappointed to say the least; he did however tell her that maybe in the future he could drop some money by her house. She left after giving him her address. Fearing what she would have to do if she couldn’t get this money. The thought made her shiver.

She didn’t live far away, only down the street a few houses; but Maria had never liked the empty house, she liked it even less knowing James would never come back. Susan had gone out to play, the girl was a carefree child—only six at the time. Maria worried for her health, they were in their last loaf of bread already, rationing a quarter of a piece a day to split between the both of them. They’d be out in a week.

Alexander did drop by. Maria found this surprising. The maid sent him upstairs to her bedroom. They talked a bit, and somehow he had ended up in her bed. This was not what she had wanted, but she went with it; if she didn’t she worried he would withdraw his funds. She knew he was married, but she started to think he carried affections for her.

Then James came back. This definitely made things more complicated. She was still seeing Alexander, in fact she had just received a letter from him. Her heart sang, he had such a way with words, he could write his way out of anything. She was so excited to read what he had written; but James was here and Maria was conflicted.

She was helpless when she had collapsed at Alexander’s doorstep, and he was so kind, but her and James had been together for years. But, but, but. Sure he had been horrible to her—but surely she could look past that. James was her husband.

James grabbed the letter jokingly—no jokingly isn't the right word—chidingly, but when Maria got defensive his face had grown rather serious. She reached for the letter back, but he held it above her reach. She hated when he did that. He asked who the letter was from, she said it was from her cousin. He didn’t buy that for a second. All the color drained from her face when he ripped open the letter and read it for himself. He yelled and yelled and yelled at Maria, who just took it silently as she always had. All of that beautiful excitement from the letter had turned to fear.

She never got the chance to read the letter. James never gave it back. He called her a slut and slapped her hard across the face. The hit burned and she felt herself flush with shame and embarrassment. 

She tried to reason with James, she told him that she loved Alexander, but he just got angrier. She thought everything might just be okay, when a cruel smile toyed at James’ lips; but then her husband left to write a letter that could ruin Alexander’s life. Alexander. He wouldn’t leave her mind. She had to apologize. She had to warn him for what James might do.

Maria knew that Alexander had refused James some political position, she had seen the letters that lied open and disregarded. She also knew how much Alexander valued his image to the public, constantly preaching about his legacy. James now had the leverage needed to get the spot he wanted. 

Maria wanted to tell Alexander, she felt it would sound better face to face; but she couldn’t muster up enough courage, so she wrote a letter instead. James left for work the next morning. Maria was alone again. Susan questioned what her mother was doing and she watched her pick the lock on the door to James’ office and sit down at his desk. It felt eerie. Maria pulled out a pen and paper and began to write.  
My dearest Alexander,  
I have not tim to tell you the cause of my present troubles only that Mr. has rote you this morning and I know not wether you have got the letter or not and he has swore that If you do not answer It or If he dose not se or hear from you to day he will write Mrs. Hamilton he has just Gone oute and I am a Lone I think you had better come here one moment that you May know the Cause then you will the better know how to act Oh my God I feel more for you than myself and wish I had never been born to give you so mutch unhappiness do not rite to him no not a Line but come here soon do not send or leave any thing in his power.

 

She set down the pen and delivered the letter by hand to Alexander’s home. She set the letter outside his door, afraid to see Alexander again. When he found out, she finally got to see his true colors. He yelled just like James did, he was angry, really angry. She told him she loved him, she thought he felt the same. Maria thought he saw her as more than just a girl he had sex with when he missed his wife. She was wrong. 

She couldn’t believe what she had done. She was ashamed. She pitied her daughter for having a mother like her. She was disappointed in herself. This isn’t how she wanted to end up.

Alexander gave James what he wanted. Not a political seat. Money. The shallow bastard only wanted money. It was made clear to Maria by Alexander himself that he had not done it for her, a scandal like this would reck his reputation forever. The first political sex scandal of the new world. 

The affair didn’t stop after the first payments were made. Maria would’ve left, but she felt indebted to the man. This was all her fault. She could have pushed him off and said no. She could’ve done so much more; but she didn’t. She thought she was disgusting. She could see why James thought she was a slut. She was one.

She stopped hearing about what was going on in Alexander’s life, but she knew that something big had happened. He didn’t trust her as much as he used to. She flipped through a couple of abandoned letters left in his study.

Her eyes widened. James Monroe had gotten word of the affair. It had all started with J. Monroe getting word of the amount of Money being passed on to James(Reynolds), nearly a thousand dollars. J. Monroe thought he was embezzling government funds. Alexander was forced to give the real reason. Maria stopped reading, she didn’t want to hear anymore.

Maria wrote letters to a few people she deemed important, trying to tell her half of the story in case Alexander decided to do something rash. She hoped said people would publish the letters and preserve whatever image she had left.

Some good, did however come from this unfortunate development. Maria was given the final push she needed to seek divorce. She was disgusted by James actions, almost as much as she was with her own. Using your wife to get money. She spoke to Aaron Burr—a rather popular lawyer at the time—and soon she was a free woman. 

A few years had passed, Alexander’s stress died down and he slowly started seeing Maria less and less. Eventually he broke it off. Maria felt empty. The only thing she could do was try her best to give Susan a good life. She loved Suzy with all of her heart. 

Maria remarried. Jacob Clingman—one of James’ old friends. They were happy. She was happy. 

She walked down the street one day, she heard shouting. She pushed her way through the crowd to see an idiot on a parapet. He claimed some of J. Monroe’s notes were leaked to the public. Maria didn’t quite understand why this was a big deal. Yes, he was a politician, but at this moment in time he was no one too important. Then he told the crowd what was in the notes—the crimes of Alexander a Hamilton. He said Alexander had “an adulterous whore,” and was using government funds to pay her husband Maria paled. The whole story didn’t have to be true, he was talking about her. Did Alexander know what had happened? God, she knew he would do something stupid. He wouldn’t deny it, he would clear up the embezzlement rumors and manage to make it worse for Maria.

She was right. Not that long had passed until it was August 1797. A pamphlet was published under Alexander’s name. It was uncomfortably specific. The Reynolds Pamphlet, 95 pages written to shame her. 

Maria was ridiculed. She felt she would always be remembered as “the whore who seduced Alexander Hamilton,” but they had it wrong. Though Alexander didn’t walk away unwounded, he survived the whole scandal much better than her. She had to keep reminding herself why she had done it. She needed to buy food to keep her precious Suzy alive and happy. She had to do it.

Maria had befriended Aaron while dealing with the divorce, and he offered to take custody of Suzy until Maria had the funds to get back on her feet. She agreed somewhat reluctantly. She knew it would’ve been selfish to keep Suzy, but she didn’t want to send her away. She had placed a kiss on the girl’s forehead and then explained what was happening. She had to tell herself it would be okay. Now, Suzy could live a proper childhood. Get a good education. She could be successful.

Ther public scorn didn’t stop after word of the affair died down. She could barely walk down the street without enduring hundreds of insults. Hoe, slut, whore—she heard it all. She decided it was time to get out; so her and Jacob left on a boat to England. Sadly their marriage didn’t end well. They sought out divorce and Maria moved back to Pennsylvania.

The torment was finally over—she was there under a new name as to not attract attention. Miss Maria Clement. She had liked the name quite a lot, she felt it suited her much better than ‘Reynolds,’ ever had.

Maria finally began to settle down back in Pennsylvania. She had always had quite the knack for cleaning; so she picked up housekeeping for a kind wealthy doctor in the area—Mathew. 

Susan promptly finished up with boarding school and came back to live with her mother. Maria was overjoyed. This was the life she had always wanted. Although she still managed to regret her interactions, with one—Alexander Hamilton; especially once she learned of her precious Suzy’s career path. She had found Suzy lying half dead in the middle of some whore house. She couldn’t help but blame herself, because she thought she—herself was no better. 

She regretted everything; because she knew she could never go back to live good life under the name of, ‘Reynolds,’ or even,‘Lewis.’ These names would be forever tainted by marital misconduct. Alexander had stolen them from her, much like the freedom she carried with them.

Maria died March 25, 1828, only five days before her sixtieth birthday. She felt her life wasn’t over, that there was more to do; but she couldn’t deny the fact that she wanted it to be. She’d gone through so much: three marriages, multiple friendships made and broken, one child, an affair, all those horrible beating and assault. Her life had been jam-packed with a load of shit I can’t help but think she didn’t deserve.

Alexander never loved Maria and that crushed her heart. All the woman needed was a bit of love to brighten a very dark life. This bothered me so much, and I didn’t know why other than the fact that, she clung dearly to any form of affection. She with no doubt in my mind loved Alexander and this love was in fact genuine, though bordering on obsession. Maria found comfort and safety in Alexander and his actions. There’s no way for me to know if she had been sleeping around prior to her engagements regarding Mr. Hamilton; but I think this was her first long term relationship since James—a man who had destroyed her. I have to assume it meant more to her than just cheap thrills. 

I think Maria was used to be anchored down to someone—not to mention some as horrible as James—that she didn’t know how to be alone. She was used to being treated like an old discarded toy; but after she was left, any other man who hadn’t hit her seemed one-hundred-fifty-billion times better.

Though I think I have strayed from the point enough. Maria was only seen as the slut who ‘seduced,’ the great Alexander Hamilton—in fact the Reynolds Pamphlet was written solely to blame Maria for everything that had happened—but I think it’s important to stay away from making snap judgments before a full story is out in the open. 

For Christ’s sake the girl was only twenty-three to Alexander’s thirty-four. People can’t possibly say that it was solely her fault. She may have not said no, but I can’t stress it enough, that this wasn’t what she wanted. Alexander took advantage to a helpless woman who needed money badly—as much as people want to put him up high on a pedestal, that’s simply not where he belongs.

Maria is not a slut, she is more than just the woman who fucked Alexander Hamilton. She had a life—a family. Maria had a story, beyond what Alexander decided to tell.


End file.
